After difficult start, Pats poised for second-half dominance

LONDON -- If it was suggested back on Labor Day that the Patriots would have a 5-3 record when they reached their bye week, some might have taken that as a bad sign.

Comment

By
PAUL KENYON
Posted Oct. 29, 2012 @ 9:03 am

LONDON -- If it was suggested back on Labor Day that the Patriots would have a 5-3 record when they reached their bye week, some might have taken that as a bad sign. Actually, most Patriots fans likely would have been disappointed.

poll goes here

Now that the bye week has arrived and the Pats really do have a 5-3 mark, it does not seem so bad. Actually, the record leaves the team in good, if not great shape overall.

After a rocky two months that included more disappointments than successes, the Pats look poised to make a strong run in the second half, as they so often do. They remain one of the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl even if they have yet to play the way they hoped at the beginning of the season.

For sure, the members of the team had no complaints after their runaway 45-7 victory over St. Louis on Sunday at Wembley Stadium. They made it clear that, for them, a 5-3 mark at the midway point as they head on vacation is not what they wanted.

“Obviously we’re disappointed in our record so far. We have a high standard,” said co-captain Jerod Mayo. “All the guys in the locker room, we feel we can win every game. If we play our best football, we feel we can win any game. We lost three close games. You never want to see that happen. It’s in the past. We can’t do anything about it. We’re looking forward. We’re looking forward to this bye week first of all, and then the next game.”

“We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve only played eight games. We certainly haven’t played our best football,” said Tom Brady. “Hopefully we can get some guys healthy, get back into the swing of things here with the bye week, have a good practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully start playing some good football here in the second half.

“Coach says the season doesn’t start till after Thanksgiving, and it isn’t even Halloween yet,” Brady continued. “There’s a lot of games to be played, teams making improvements. I hope we’re one of the teams that continues to get better and uses the games we played, learn from those, move on from the bad things, get back to the stuff that’s working.”

Logistically, the second half of the season is much more manageable for the Patriots.

Their first eight games included five road contests. It required travelling through eight time zones and flying more than 16,000 miles, the most in the league and more than some teams will have all season.

In the second half, the team will never leave the eastern time zone. The three remaining road games are a visit to the Meadowlands and two trips to Florida in December for games against the Jaguars and Dolphins. If they decide to take a train or bus to the Jets game, the Pats do not need to be in an airplane for the entire month of November.

They also have a right to expect better health in the second half, which will make them a better team.

The injury issue was no small matter in the first half. Some players, most notably tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, played through health issues, at least in some games. Neither young star was the same player he was last season. The break in the schedule should get them healthier and make them better for the second half.

The team did all it could to blend Brandon Lloyd into the offense in the first half. At times it almost seemed as if the Patriots were trying too hard with Lloyd. But the goal of adding Lloyd to a receiving corps that includes Gronkowski, Hernandez and Wes Welker seems to have been realized, as Lloyd showed with two touchdown receptions in the victory over St. Louis on Sunday.

To top it off, the running game clearly is stronger than in recent years. Led by Stevan Ridley, who is emerging as a star, the Pats are on pace to put up some of the best rushing numbers in team history. It all should make for a powerful offense in the second half.

In a roundabout way, the defense should be better, too, because of all the health issues it has had. This is where the team needed to improve, where it drafted for help. The rookies have received a lot of work, perhaps even more than expected because of the injuries to Steve Gregory, Patrick Chung and Ras-I Dowling, among others.

The experience should help in the long run. Chandler Jones is a big-time keeper. Dont’a Hightower is healthy again and a player who figures to only get better. Tavon Wilson, Alfonzo Dennard and Nate Ebner all have shown they can help in various ways.

Asking for a repeat of the last two years might be too much. The Pats went undefeated in the second half of 2011 and 2010. But another 8-0 finish is possible. After their early stumbles, with three losses by a total of four points, the Pats are back as heavy favorite to win the AFC East and play well into January, if not February.

The last time the Super Bowl was held in New Orleans, the Pats won their first title. They are in position to go back again looking for their fourth championship.